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Ball Don't Lie on the Knicks

Indiana pulls together at home, downs the Knicks to move onto the Eastern Conference finals

The New York Knicks, once thought of as the top threat in the East to defeat the mighty Miami Heat, are out of the playoffs. And they have one of their own to blame, following Saturday’s 106-99 Indiana Pacers win and series conquest in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Lance Stephenson grew up in Brooklyn hating the Indiana Pacers. After a rough start to NBA career, though, he grew into loving working for his adopted hometown and Pacer team, and he was likely more than cognizant of the criticism that arose from his time spent as Indiana’s top backcourt penetrator during the team’s Game 5 loss against the New York Knicks on Thursday. With George Hill out, the Pacers needed someone to step up on the perimeter, and Stephenson (13 points on 13 shots) could not step up. Game 6, however, was about as “up” as steps come.
Even with George Hill in the Pacer starting lineup, Stephenson put up a career-high 25 points in the contest, topping his previous playoff-high in points by halftime by dropping 16 on the Knicks. Working between New York’s smallish lineup, the former University of Cincinnati guard also weaved his way toward 10 rebounds in just 34 minutes, his fourth double-digit rebounding game of the postseason. And though the Knicks reverted to their old, winning ways – a small rotation, plenty of three-point attempts – the team just could not keep in front of the younger Indiana Pacers.
Though he was mostly shut out of the fourth quarter, mostly, this wasn’t Carmelo Anthony’s fault. From the outset of the game it was apparent that the Knicks coaching staff was attempting to make Anthony’s mid-post looks a priority, and throughout the game the MVP-vote garner used his touch and savvy to out-duel an all-world defender in Paul George. Anthony tossed in 39 points on 29 shots before the Pacer defense decided that Carmelo Anthony, alone, was not going to send them to a Game 7 in New York.
Initially, the Pacers chose incorrectly, as the Knicks responded with a flurry of three-pointers from Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, and Chris Copeland. The Pacer defense, ranked tops in the league for the better part of the 2012-13 NBA season, adapted. New York scored just 18 points in the final quarter of their season, as Stephenson tossed in some opportunistic makes, David West found some cutters with timely passes, and the Pacers earned trips to the line.
And before Knick fans and NBA know-alls toss the final tally in Carmelo Anthony’s face, they should understand that the Indiana Pacers are a better basketball team than Carmelo’s New York Knicks. The outcome of this series, is the correct one.
Part of that, in a weird way, is Carmelo’s fault. He demanded a trade to New York that saw Isiah Thomas (unofficially, as he was technically not a Knick employee at the time) inspiring a depth-killing deal from Denver to New York that gave Anthony both a maximum-level contract and very little room around him save for his fellow eight-figure earning teammates in Amar’e Stoudemire (two points in less than six minutes in Game 6) and Tyson Chandler (two points, six rebounds, and six fouls in less than 23 minutes). The Pacers’ bench is hardly inspiring, but Indiana’s rotation still had enough to circle the wagons when Anthony appeared to be well on his way toward winning the game by himself in the third quarter.
Indiana wasn’t bothered, though, which is impressive for a team that went into Saturday afternoon not knowing if George Hill could even suit up for the rest of the series; while potentially tailing off a year that was spent mostly without former All-Star Danny Granger. Roy Hibbert spent the better part of two months shooting less than 40 percent from the field. Coach Frank Vogel probably walks the streets of his own city without recognition. A guy named Sam Young, somehow, was crucial for key parts of this game. And yet the team is four wins away from its second NBA Finals appearance in the team’s post-ABA history.
The Knicks boast six former All-Stars, the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, and the NBA’s sixth-highest payroll. This loss isn’t a damning indictment of going after big names and top salaries, though.
The Indiana Pacers, a team that sent all five of its starters to the podium following Game 6, were just the better team. And prior to their Game 1 matchup with the Miami Heat on Wednesday, you’ll have a small bit of time to learn their names.
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- Sat May 18, 2013 11:35 pm EDT
- Ball Don't Lie
- Kelly Dwyer
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George Hill will play in Game 6 despite a concussion suffered on Tuesday

George Hill will play in Indiana’s crucial, and potentially series-deciding, Game 6 against the New York Knicks on Saturday.

“We did everything by the book,” Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel told the media in the hours before his team’s match with the Knicks. Vogel told the media that his team’s medical staff, in concert with the NBA, put George Hill through all the proper paces as he recovered from a concussion suffered in Game 4 of his team’s series against the New York Knicks. Hill missed Game 5 because of that concussion, surprising most who witnessed both his brilliant play during the Game 4 win and affable demeanor post-game.

The NBA’s concussion policy is lightly defined, when it comes to choosing a number of games a player can sit out for; but what is known about the policy is the stringent, recently-made, tests that players have to go through. Whether the player in question enjoys the tests or not, the NBA runs an exacting standard of procedures put in place to determine if the athlete in question is fit to compete in a safe environment that would not leave the player in question prone to future head injury.

We hope that’s the case, at least. Saturday’s Game 6 is an important game, full of intrigue and season-deciding drama. What’s most important, though, is Hill’s long-term health. Brain “injuries” aren’t about gutting anything out; and it isn’t as if Hill (who was already dodging elbows from the likes of players like Tyson Chandler well before his concussion) was shirking his responsibility in Game 5.

We just hope his ability to suit up for Game 6 stems from a good report from a doctor that has nothing to do with the NFL, and that this is the last time we’ll ever have to discuss a head injury to George Hill.
- Sat May 18, 2013 7:10 pm EDT
- Ball Don't Lie
- Kelly Dwyer
- Comment